The definition of "Prior Art". :lol:

[kevin_stevens]

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2011/06/20/harley-davidson-water-cooled-heads-patent/

KeS

[Paco23]

WOW!!!  Water cooled bikes!  HD is at the forefront of technology again.  

[FiremanBob]

It certainly shows the chutzpah of Harley's legal department. Fortunately it's only "pending" and not granted. But I suppose that with enough baksheesh to enough bureaucrats they might get it granted by some idiotic clerk. Then Harley will sue all the Japanese manufacturers for their use of water cooling since the 1970s.

[1KPerDay]

So your legs will get even more roasted behind the fairing lowers? No thanks.

Hide the radiators in the saddlebags... they're too thin to be useful anyway.  

[Cvergi01]

Hawk June 20, 2011 at 12:07 pm

Just think, they can draw off some hot water for tea.

 

[TuffguyF4i]

Wow...just water cooling the heads?  Thats only about 1/3 of the engine.  

Why not just make some passages down into the block?

The last air cooled engine i owned was an 86' Honda 200 4-wheeler.  You didn't need liquid cooling with so little power...hint hint.  

[1KPerDay]

Wow...just water cooling the heads?  Thats only about 1/3 of the engine.    

It's the hottest bit, though. For HD to be considering this is a huge leap.  I personally think it's a good idea. But don't put the rads in the fairing lowers.

[scottzilla]

Harley discovered the radial tire what...last year?  Things are looking up for them.

[Hunter]

The new "Waterhead"

snerk

[Scum]

"Chowderhead"  

[blackbeltrider]

flat head

knuckle head

pan head

shovel head

What are they going to call this one......the wet head?

An old advertising line from the 70's (?) noted "the wet head is dead".

Power wise, that's probably true of this latest "leap forward" in motorcycle technology.

[scarecrow]

"The rep suggested that the benefits were not limited to clean air; the new liquid-cooled engines produce up to 35 percent more horsepower, and run considerably cooler than their predecessors-- with a reduction in the signature potato-potato exhaust volume. The radiators, manufactured in Japan by Denso, are purpose built for the H-D application, and feature a similar design to the slim units found on Honda's Fury chopper. All models will feature traditional placement except the XR1200X, which will incorporate a side-mounted radiator. Rumors that the V-Rod will be discontinued due to "redundancy" have not yet been confirmed."

"with a reduction in the signature potato-potato exhaust volume" ...  I am disappoint. Wanted fries got boil potato.


http://motorcycles.about.com/b/2011/04/01/2012-harley-davidson-lineup-to-break-tradition-with-water-cooled-engines.htm

[Xanth]

"The rep suggested that the benefits were not limited to clean air; the new liquid-cooled engines produce up to 35 percent more horsepower, and run considerably cooler than their predecessors-- with a reduction in the signature potato-potato exhaust volume. The radiators, manufactured in Japan by Denso, are purpose built for the H-D application, and feature a similar design to the slim units found on Honda's Fury chopper. All models will feature traditional placement except the XR1200X, which will incorporate a side-mounted radiator. Rumors that the V-Rod will be discontinued due to "redundancy" have not yet been confirmed."

"with a reduction in the signature potato-potato exhaust volume" ...  I am disappoint. Wanted fries got boil potato.


http://motorcycles.about.com/b/2011/04/01/2012-harley-davidson-lineup-to-break-tradition-with-water-cooled-engines.htm

Look at the date of that.

[McHack]

Look at THIS article,  that was listed on that "reference site".    

http://motorcycles.about.com/b/2009/04/01/motorcycle-chrome-to-be-banned-by-january-1-2010.htm

[Rincewind]

Look at THIS article,  that was listed on that "reference site".    

http://motorcycles.about.com/b/2009/04/01/motorcycle-chrome-to-be-banned-by-january-1-2010.htm

Well it's about time!  

[boogeyman]

Pods

[coho]

Pods

  AAAAA!!!1!

[phoenix]

protecting a company's intellectual property involves patents. My employer has a good size legal department and a group of them work on patent applications full time. At times I think we persue patents on something that seems not worthy of a patent, but they march ahead and usually are granted a patent.

In terms of maintaining the look of their touring models, the radiators in the leg shields seems pretty clever to me, as long as there is no negative impact to the rider. I assume the fan vents away from the riders' legs.